The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has led a study displaying a relation between demographic health issues and mobility limitation. Researchers found that depressed African American women had almost three times the odds of mobility limitations than those who are not depressed. Additionally, African Americans reporting multiple medical conditions tended to have a higher risk of mobility limitations than those with fewer medical conditions. The study can be found in a 2011 issue of the Journal of Gerontology.
The study was conducted with 602 African Americans, made up of men and women between the ages of 48 and 92. The participants previously reported having difficulties walking and climbing stairs. The researchers used logistic regression to measure how demographics and health independently affected mobility. Results proved that pre-existing medical conditions in African Americans were associated with mobility limitations; however, African American women with lower incomes were affected the most.
Roland Thorpe, assistant scientist with the Bloomberg School’s Department of Health Policy and Management, says depressive symptoms have not been labeled as a mobility limitation factor in the past, but the studies have begun to prove otherwise. Thorpe says the problem might have been a lack of motivation rather than a mobility limitation; therefore, in order to repair mobility, African Americans must tend to medical conditions right away and control their depressive symptoms.
Poor eating habits and lack of exercise among African Americans increases their risk of developing cancer, obesity, hypertension, diabetes and heart disease, according to recent studies by the Public Health Institute (PHI) and the California Department of Health Services (CDHS).
Health care professionals at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine Sciences (CDU), a medical school and college in Los Angeles that provides health care to underserved populations, believes this trend of poor nutrition in African Americans is a cause for concern.
CDU President Charles Francis, PhD, says, “We see evidence of this every day in our [African American] patients who have a higher incidence of obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, than the rest of the population.”
CDU is especially concerned with the poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyle of many black youths. PHI studies have found that black teens are spending less time participating in physical activity and more time watching TV, playing video games and using the computer. In fact, African-American teens spend an average of 188 minutes a day watching television, compared to other young adults who average 130 minutes a day. Black teens also have poorer nutrition, according to studies by the CDHS that found that this group eats too few fruits and vegetables, too many high-fat foods and is increasingly overweight.
But African-American teens are not the only ones participating in these unhealthy behaviors, the study concludes black adults’ increased risk of many types of disease is, in part, a result of their own poor nutrition and lack of exercise.
“Our people are dying,” says Elaine Williams, PhD, a doctor at CDU. “This is real for us. Health disparities in this country widen every year, and this chronic condition is threatening our lives.”
To combat this trend of poor nutrition and lack of physical activity, the CDU challenges African Americans to take it upon themselves to follow healthy dietary guidelines, such as eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables every day. The university’s Task Force for Nutrition advises black teens and children to increase their physical activity to 60 minutes a day and encourages black adults to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day.
A new program, Get With the Guidelines, is playing an important role in heart disease prevention by significantly increasing the number of health care providers who follow the American Heart Association (AHA)’s guidelines for preventing second heart attacks. This program is especially important for minority patients because coronary disease is the leading cause of death and disability among racial and ethnic groups.
The need for this program was revealed in recent reports that found doctors and hospitals were not always following these guidelines. In a 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association article, researchers found only half of the eligible candidates for second heart attacks received beta-blockers, slightly more than half received ACE inhibitors and only two-thirds were treated with clot busters.
This treatment gap may be a contributing factor in many reoccurring heart attacks and other cardiovascular events. According to AHA statistics, within six years after an attack, 18% of men and 35% of women will have another heart attack, and about 22% of men and 46% of women will be disabled with heart failure.
Get With the Guidelines is an AHA in-hospital program that notably improved the number of individuals receiving standardized care for heart disease–including drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, smoking cessation counseling and referrals to physical activity programs.
As part of Get With the Guidelines, hospitals focus on ongoing data measurement and rapid movement cycles using a Web-based, real-time patient management tool. The tool provides hospitals with immediate access to the guidelines customized for each patient to reduce risk factors.
According to U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, African Americans are twice as likely to suffer a stroke than whites, making them more susceptible to stroke than any other ethnic group. Satcher spoke out on this health disparity during a stroke-screening event in Rockville, Md., called “Stroke Sunday.”
“Strokes have a disproportionate impact among African Americans, but there is something we can do as a community to combat this disease,” states Satcher, who is African American. “We can reduce our risk of stroke by lowering blood pressure, quitting smoking and keeping heart disease and diabetes in check.”
Satcher stressed the importance of African Americans learning the five warning signs of stroke. These signs, as outlined by the American Stroke Association (ASA), are:
1. Numbness or weakness of the arm, face or one side of the body. 2. A severe headache that seems to have no cause. 3. Trouble seeing out of one or both eyes. 4. Loss of balance, dizziness or trouble walking. 5. Confusion and difficulty speaking.
The ASA adds that these symptoms can occur suddenly and reacting to them quickly can make a huge difference in reducing the damaging effects of a stroke.
“A stroke is a medical emergency where every minute counts,” explains Dr. Audrey Penn, deputy director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. “Immediate treatment can protect the brain from damage caused by reduced blood flow and enhance chances for a successful recovery.”
Hospital nurses working the late shift may have a greater risk of developing heart disease because of the strain placed on the heart from working at night when it would otherwise be resting, according to a new study published in the American Heart Association’s Journal Circulation. This makes it particularly dangerous for minority nurses to work the night shift because coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability among racial and ethnic minority groups.
Italian researchers at the University of Milan discovered that while artificial lighting and alarm clocks may fool the mind into thinking night is day, other organs, like the heart, do not respond well to working during hours in which they would typically be resting.
Dr. Raffaello Furlan, who led the study, says, “We know that habitual [night] work may stress the heart. [Occurrences of] cardiovascular diseases are increased among [night workers].”
The study found that nerve and chemical messages that control the heart’s activity follow a 24-hour pattern that disregards changes in daily sleep patterns. Therefore, levels of cortisol, a hormone that stimulates the heart rate, digestive system, breathing and other functions during the day, does not adjust to help night workers stay awake and alert. This could mean that the heart is more likely to suffer strain because it is unprepared for the stress it will encounter during a night work shift.
“The resistance of the body’s internal clock to change with varied work schedules indicates that people don’t adapt as easily as we think to [night] work, and could explain why [night] workers are at higher risk,” Furlan explains.
